By Manasi Deshpande

It’s not every day that you get to work on the forefront of cutting edge technology. It’s not every day that you get to collaborate with brilliant, talented and innovative engineers that are just as invested in your future as you are. It’s not every day that you get the chance to transform healthcare as we know it – unless you work at Stryker.

Stryker Corporation has an exceptionally strong intern program that allows students to thrive well beyond limits they set for themselves. Want to get more exposure to a skill? Ask your manager. Want to get involved in more projects that interest you? Contact those team members.

There are so many opportunities to acquire technical skills, gain professional skills, and improve personal skills. This is a company that cares about developing not only their employees but also their interns.

All employees and interns go through a Gallup StrengthsFinder exercise upon arrival that provides their top five strengths and gives a detailed leadership report of what those entail. Walking around the office, almost every employee has their own strengths pinned up on their desk. It’s a Stryker must.

Stryker’s mission statement says it all: “Together with our customers we are driven to make healthcare better.” The projects that interns work on align with these goals. They are significant, meaningful, impactful, and yes, sometimes quite challenging.

The best part about it is that anyone and everyone is ready to help and truly want you to succeed. I had a great time on my project and got lots of exposure to processes such as design, development, and testing. It’s comforting to see that what I learned in college can be applied to deliver results.

Interns don’t go unnoticed, either. From events like Intern Appreciation Day (filled with fun, games, and even a gelato food truck) to an intern-exclusive talk held with the CEO, Stryker does an excellent job integrating interns into the work environment. When the office hosted “Diversity Day,” an event celebrating different cultures and foods, everyone – including interns – got to make signature dishes, bring decorations, and dress up in their cultural attire.

From town hall sessions to events celebrating Stryker’s success, interns are part of a collective impact – like a family. I’m so lucky that I got to spend my summer at a company that is not only “driven to make healthcare better,” but that is making a difference.

Manasi Deshpande is an undergraduate student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering who spent the summer as an intern with medical device manufacturer Stryker Corporation. To read her original blog post on the Stryker Interns web site, click here.